Inelastic Buckling of Monosymmetric I-Beams

Considerations of flexural-torsional instability usually govern the design of laterally unsupported I beams. Numerous solutions for the elastic buckling of bisymmetrical I-sections under various loading and support conditions are currently available together with several extensions to cover inelastic behavior. Monosymmetric beams, however, have received far less attention, and to date, no solutions covering inelastic behavior have been published. Thus, the treatment of this topic in design codes tends to be somewhat intuitive. This note presents theoretical solutions for one aspect of the problem (simply supported, initially stress-free beams loaded by uniform moment) together with a method of analysis capable of extension to other cases.